Analysts have been left dumbfounded after China last month released official 2020 wind and solar installation figures that were seemingly too big to be true.
The Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) “stunned the world” when it announced total wind and solar capacity additions of 120 gigawatts, according to Wood Mackenzie senior analyst Xiaoyang Li.
Notwithstanding uncertainty over COVID-19’s impact on the supply chain, China had been expected to report big numbers for last year. The International Energy Agency, for example, had predicted the country would add around 32 GW of wind and 50 GW of solar.
But the magnitude of the official figures caught even seasoned China watchers off guard. BloombergNEF had forecast 36 GW each of new solar and wind in 2020, and the official figure for PV capacity additions was 48 GW (AC).